Power’s Tug-a-War Essay

In Power and Social Change, Richard Healy and Sandra Hinson explore the term power in social change between the world and people. The topic about power was interesting because there are two distinct perspective of power. The most common view of power is power-over. The less common view is power-within. In organizing for social justice, it is important to realize that using power-within will lead to successful achievement to instigate compliance of demands listed by the minorities. Furthermore, there are three criteria of power implement in organizing for social justice, which are direct political involvement, organizational infrastructure, and ideology with worldview. Each criterion plays an important role to the success of establishing a

In Lukianoff and Haidt’s essay, “The Coddling of the American Mind,” the authors contend today’s college students want to be protected from any words that might harm them. The authors argue doing so harms them in other ways.

Essay on the subject of power and way of thinking with refrences to the essays titled ;

“A movement is arising, undirected and driven largely by students, to scrub campuses clean of words, ideas, and subjects that might cause discomfort or give offense” (Lukianoff and Haidt 44). Colleges are sheltering their students from words and ideas that students do not like or are found to be offensive. Affecting their education and cognitive skills, scientists are warning colleges to refrain from coddling the students and allowing other viewpoints to be spoken. People are speaking their minds, saying their own views; however, some people are over sensitive and take these viewpoints offensively. In the article “The Coddling of the American Mind,” Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt successfully argues using rhetorical questions, specific examples, and affective visuals that protecting college students from words and ideas deteriorates their education and mental health.

There are many people in the world that have power. Their power is impactful to the people under them and maybe big enough for things like countries and the world. This is a big idea that Erich Remarque had when he was writing All Quiet on the Western Front. The war in the novel and the soldiers who take place in it are greatly impacted by the people who have control over them. The soldiers do not agree or like how they run things. A larger theme in All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Remarque is power is bad because instinct takes over.

“The Coddling of the American Mind” by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt is a short work written to inform people on an epidemic that is affecting colleges and universities around America. The article talks about certain “words, ideas, and subjects that might cause discomfort or give offense” (Lukianoff) and how students are asking for them to not be said. Much is covered on the topic including specific examples of how people were persecuted for saying such things and various opinions on if this trend is for better or worse. I believe the article highlights a problem in the educational system and in order for improvement these topics need to be taught and discussed.

Modern day power originates from the mind in that we give certain figures power based upon man-made forms of value or worth like money. The definition of power has fluctuated throughout time, and while the past may have emphasized the more violent aspects, today, we have shifted towards a more control based interpretation. Both Michael Foucault and John Berger delve into the idea of power and its functionality. Based on their texts, in our current socio-cultural setting, power is best exploited when the concept behind the power is deindividualized for many purposes, internalized by the people, and integrated throughout society to the point that its origins is mystified.

Institutional structures have the power to configure adolescent growth through repression and liberation. The capability that adolescents have to create their own destiny and choose their own social institution can be limited, but not impossible. In Trites article, “Do I dare disturb the universe?” the author argues that kids have personal power, whether they acknowledge it and use it to their own advantage or not. Michel Foucault declares that “Power is everywhere; not because it embraces everything, but because it comes from everywhere” (Trites). Power is inevitable, there will never be no such thing as power in this world; it will never diminish or fade. Trites also conveyed that, “power not only acts on a subject but, in a transitive

Society as a stratification system that is based on a hierarchy of power , the ability

Oppression of individual power leads to its irresponsible use when granted, as individual identity is lost and must be regained.

A world of system designed to keep people in unjust and unequal positions is held in place by several interrelated expression of "power over": political power, economic power, physical force, and ideological power (Bishop, 1994: 36). So, we can say power is defined as a possession of control, authority or influence over others. In terms of power of dominant groups over subordinate groups, we define power as domination of one group of people over another in major important spheres of life. Power inequities have been in existence throughout the history of humanity and the ways of manifestation evolved from extreme overt oppression to subtle, covert oppression. Three major forms of power inequalities discussed in this paper are

Because humans are naturally inclined to organize and categorize themselves, the idea of power is very prevalent in society. Aristotle recognized this fact millennia ago, denoting the human as the “political animal” for these tendencies. Power tends to coincide with many of the desired traits and characteristics of life, including sovereignty, glory, respect, and fulfillment. This paradigm lends to the high value ascribed to public office and positions of power; many believe that power will endow the holder with happiness. Upon further inspection, though, this model seems to break down. The elevated status of the powerful is questioned, as is its overall worth and if power is even possible for humans. Through the discourse between Lady Philosophy and

Such social inequities are not new, in fact, for a long time oppression, discrimination and more has built blockages for individuals who are not socially accepted (Chung & Bemak, 2011). As social injustice spreads into the light so does the relationship between power and social justice (Chung & Bemak, 2011). Practitioners and advocates spread their awareness on how such power can feed into social injustice.

Power and truth play different but equal roles in maintaining control in a nation. Modern societies create regimes of truth that are enforced by power structures such as government, discipline and laws. When it comes to power, the government, queen or dictator is in charge. They tell their citizens what the main expectations are and how to abide by them. Nevertheless, the government should uphold fairness and not abuse its power unless it is necessary. Power is something that is earned; it is not something that is granted by default. The proper qualities, such as integrity, assertiveness and truth, in government or person can benefit its leadership skill set. Sometimes truth can be manipulated by the government to influence its people so

Power can be inferred from elites who occupy key institutional positions and participate in important decision making forums. Groups which are highly over presented in relation to proportion of Canadian populations considered to be powerful. Power is complex social characteristic in which groups or individuals can impose actions on others regardless of their needs, actions and interests. Relationship between power and social class is based on some basic fundamentals. They concerns with the economic structure of society, which involves the network in which wealth is generated as well as distributed. In addition, to overlying networks, power majorly concerns in political expression within the society. They are based on dichotomies of structure and authorities that defines the relationship between power and social stratification in a society.